Religious and Theological Abstracts

Religious and Theological Abstracts
ProducerReligious and Theological Abstracts (United States)
History1958 to present
Coverage
DisciplinesReligion
Print edition
ISSN0034-4044
Links
Websitewww.rtabstracts.org
Title list(s)www.rtabstracts.org/journals-we-abstract.php

Religious and Theological Abstracts is a database that indexes many religious and theological journals and other literature. In 2005, one Guide to Research described it as a "popular reference"[1]: 462  covering more than 600 periodicals in most major European languages (plus Hebrew and Afrikaans) beginning in 1948.[2] It covers, "a wide array of periodical literature, including Christian, Jewish, and other world religions and some denominational and popular religious magazines."[1]: 463 

A guide to how to acquire documents for libraries[3] stated, that

Because of the interrelationship between indexing and abstract services and the literature that they document, tools such as Religious and Theological Abstracts (1958-, Myerstown, PA), Religion Index One (1949-, Evanston, IL), and The Catholic Periodical and Literature Index (1930-, Catholic Library Association) often become de facto standards against which many librarians measure their collections. If a journal is indexed by one of these services, it becomes important on the grounds that the index service provides access points to the information contained in the articles themselves.[3]: 74 

A guide to library research stated that "religion has its primary indexes in Religion Index One, Religion Index Two, Religious and Theological Abstracts, and a few other such titles."[4]: 10 

In 2021, the journal had five staff and 25 volunteers.[5]

The original editor was J. Creighton Christman;[6] in 2024, the editor is William Sailer.

  1. ^ a b Lenburg, Jeff (2005). The Facts on File Guide to Research. New York: Facts On File. ISBN 978-0-8160-5742-9. ISBN 0-8160-5741-9, ISBN 0-8160-5742-7
  2. ^ Montana State University website, Religious and Theological Abstracts
  3. ^ a b Owens, Irene (1997). Acquisitions and collection development in the humanities. London: Haworth Press. p. 74. ISBN 978-0-7890-0368-3. Religious and Theological Abstracts.
  4. ^ Mann, Thomas (1993). Library research models: A guide to classification, cataloging, and computers. Oxford University Press. p. 10. ISBN 978-0-19-509395-7. Religious and Theological Abstracts.
  5. ^ Reading Eagle website, Happy 60th anniversary, Religious & Theological Abstracts Inc.
  6. ^ RTA website, retrieved October 10, 2024